Browsing the "Column" Category

Ginger root, seen here, is often used as a natural way to treat nausea. Photo courtesy: Pixabay
When I start to get the sniffles, cough or the scratchiness of a sore throat I reach for the spicy ginger. I steep a fresh ginger honey tea and chug that all day. I make my Dad’s famous Taiwanese...

Finding a good sleeping position is a good first step in preventing snoring. Photo courtesy: WMC
The proportion rises to 40 per cent after age 40 and 45 per cent after age 55. It can be an intermittent or a regular problem that can lead to daytime tiredness and sleepiness. The two most common adverse...

With the election settled happily, we turned back to the Blue Jays and their pursuit of the World Series. Sadly, on Friday the 23rd, despite Jose Bautista's heroic homers, Kansas City took the league championship. Photo courtesy: Pixabay
No more Harper after putting up with him for nine years. And the national...

Gil Asakawa in Tokyo in the early 1960s, living out his cowboy dreams like any American kid, except he was in the land of the samurai. Photo courtesy: Gil Asakawa
Facebook was just getting started when the book was originally published, and frankly, Asians have found our voice and carved out a significant...

I sat on a bench at Maryvale Park to watch the last few innings of the 2015 slopitch season. One thing that quite impressed me was how these playing oldsters were so into it. Photo courtesy: Pixabay
I’ll never forget when Woody Herman’s version of ’Tis Autumn came out in the early 1940s....

Unagi is a freshwater fish and is often served barbecued on top of a bed of rice. It's delicious and salty, and a staple Japanese dish. Photo courtesy: WMC
And picking up my chopsticks, I enjoyed every bit of this meal. The only thing missing was a bit of fukujinzuke, the so-called seasoned vegetables...

Hiroshima city devastated by the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. Photo taken from the US aircraft Enola Gay. Photo courtesy: WMC
With the 70th anniversary of that climactic event coming this summer, he wanted to report on my personal reactions at that crucial time. (By the way, Nikka Times was converted...

Real peace comes from inside. It is something that we can control. We can control how we view the world. It doesn't matter how someone else looks at you if you view yourself as a positive worthy person.
I could see the sun beaming down through the newly formed leaves on the 100-year-old maples....

Author Ian Hamilton has produced seven novels about Ava Lee, beginning in 2009 with 'The Water Rat of Wanchai'. Image courtesy: Ian Hamilton Books
So on days or nights when no TV shows appeal to us, that’s what we are doing – reading one of the latest batch of mysteries I’ve brought home...

Japanese snacks get a mixed rap, but they're better than you think. Photo courtesy: WMC
I love Japanese junk food.
Salt is especially popular in Japanese snacks – starting with the shreds of dried salted fish and squid that are often served the way beer nuts and beef jerky would be served in the U.S.,...